Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27129679›Full record

ArticlePalliative medicine2017

How does uncertainty shape patient experience in advanced illness? A secondary analysis of qualitative data.

Simon Noah Etkind, Katherine Bristowe, Katharine Bailey, Lucy Ellen Selman, Fliss Em Murtagh

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Palliative medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
59citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

59 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  20. Communicating scientific uncertainty in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic: A message experiment.Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Simon Noah EtkindKing's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, London, UK.
Katherine BristoweKing's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, London, UK.
Katharine BaileyKing's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, London, UK.
Lucy Ellen SelmanKing's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, London, UK.
Fliss Em MurtaghKing's College London, Cicely Saunders Institute, Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, London, UK.

Funding

Department of Health RP-PG-1210-12015
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundUncertainty is common in advanced illness but is infrequently studied in this context. If poorly addressed, uncertainty can lead to adverse patient outcomes.

aimWe aimed to understand patient experiences of uncertainty in advanced illness and develop a typology of patients' responses and preferences to inform practice.

designSecondary analysis of qualitative interview transcripts. Studies were assessed for inclusion and interviews were sampled using maximum-variation sampling. Analysis used a thematic approach with 10% of coding cross-checked to enhance reliability. SETTING/

participantsQualitative interviews from six studies including patients with heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, renal disease, cancer and liver failure.

resultsA total of 30 transcripts were analysed. Median age was 75 (range, 43-95), 12 patients were women. The impact of uncertainty was frequently discussed: the main related themes were engagement with illness, information needs, patient priorities and the period of time that patients mainly focused their attention on (temporal focus). A typology of patient responses to uncertainty was developed from these themes.

conclusionUncertainty influences patient experience in advanced illness through affecting patients' information needs, preferences and future priorities for care. Our typology aids understanding of how patients with advanced illness respond to uncertainty. Assessment of these three factors may be a useful starting point to guide clinical assessment and shared decision making.

Indexed as

UncertaintyAdaptation, PsychologicalAdultAgedAged, 80 and overChronic DiseaseFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeeds AssessmentPalliative CarePatient PreferenceQualitative Researchcommunicationcomorbiditypalliative carequalitative researchterminal careUncertainty

Identifiers

PMID27129679
PMCPMC5302072

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.